THE Court of Appeals has dismissed the petition for habeas corpus filed by the mother of missing activist Jonas Joseph Burgos against Army personnel, but partially granted her petition for amparo for authorities to continuously investigate Jonas’ disappearance.

The Burgos family is suspecting the military to be behind Jonas’ abduction in April last year in a mall in Quezon City. It linked the military through a license plate seen on one of the vehicles of the abductors, which was originally attached to a vehicle which was impounded at the camp of the 56th Infantry Battalion in Bulacan about a year before the abduction.

In a 50-page decision, the CA said Burgos failed to sufficiently prove that the military was behind the abduction.

"We have meticulously perused the evidence but found it wanting to establish the claimed direct connection between the abductors of Jonas and the military… The evidence does not also show whether the abductors are members of the military or the police or plain civilians, and if they are civilians, whether they acted on their own or were commanded to accomplish the task, and by whom," the Court said.

It said it was non-sequitur (does not follow) that simply because the plate TAB-194 belonging to the Isuzu XLT vehicle is in the custody of the 56th IB, it was the military that abducted Jonas.

The appellate court further said the argument that the military has the motive to abduct Jonas because he was in its "Order of Battle" is not conclusive, as there was no admission or evidence that Jonas uses the nickname "Ka Ramon," "Raymond," "Simon," or "Mon."

"Even petitioner herself could not confirm if Jonas used the alias ‘Ka Ramon’ or is known by his friends as such, and whether Jonas is a member of the New People’s Army. In fine, the Court is not convinced at this time that petitioner has substantially proven the involvement of the military in the alleged abduction of Jonas," the Court said.

The "Order of Battle" allegedly furnished by Burgos’ friend in the military, whom she refused to identify, being unsigned and unverified, "bolstered our suspicion that the document could be fabricated… and cannot, and is in fact not admitted by this Court."

The CA also dismissed the contempt charge filed by Mrs. Burgos against the respondents for refusing to disclose information on Jonas’ abduction.

Named respondents were President Arroyo; Gen. (ret.) Hermogenes Esperon, former AFP chief; Lt. Gen. (ret.) Romeo Tolentino, former Army chief; Maj. Juanito Gomez, commanding officer of the 71st Infantry Division; Lt. Col. Noel Clement, commanding officer of the Security and Escort battalion based in Fort Bonifacio; and Lt. Col. Melquiades Feliciano, former commander of the 56th IB.

The CA ordered AFP chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano and PNP chief Avelino Razon Jr. to make available to the petitioner all documents and records in their possession relevant to the case of Jonas, subject to reasonable regulations.

Razon was directed to continue with, and conduct, a full and thorough investigation of the case and to cause the immediate filing of charges against all those who may be found responsible.

Yano was ordered to conduct an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the loss of the license plate and the possible involvement of any AFP personnel in the alleged abduction of Jonas.